Fusion & Acquisition

🏨 Hamilton Pyramid Europe and Axiom Hospitality merged, expanding Pyramid's European portfolio by over 30 properties, managing more than 48 hotels and over 8,000 keys. Post-integration by early 2025, Jamie Lamb and Alex Pritchard of Axiom will lead the European business. CEO Warren Fields of Pyramid Global Hospitality emphasizes operational excellence and customer results. The merger integrates two similar organizational cultures, focusing on 'people first'. The market is expected to experience their expertise in the coming months and years.

🏖️ The Swiss retail giant Migros is restructuring to focus on its core businesses and intends to sell its tourism branch, including Hotelplan and Interhome. German group HomeToGo is in non-exclusive talks to acquire Interhome Group, Hotelplan's subsidiary, which boasts 40,000 properties across 20 countries and reported a 2023 revenue of €415 million. HomeToGo is a leading vacation rental search engine with 15 million listings. The sale process for the Hotelplan group is advanced and has attracted significant interest.

🚢 Le Groupe Beneteau ceded its Habitat activity to Groupe Trigano, approved by the Autorité de la concurrence. Negotiations started on May 5, 2023, with the transfer of 100% of BIO HABITAT, including O’HARA, IRM, and COCO SWEET brands, and all employees in France and Italy. The operation aims to refocus on nautical activities and accelerate the growth and premium positioning of Beneteau's 9 boat brands.

🏁 Alphabet's subsidiary, Waymo, raises $5.6 billion to expand its autonomous taxi network, currently operating in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. With previous funding of $5.5 billion since 2020 and backers like Andreesen Horowitz, Silver Lake, and Tiger Global, Waymo's total raised is $11.1 billion. The funds will accelerate deployment in U.S. cities, including Austin and Atlanta, in partnership with Uber, improving the Waymo Driver software and supporting over 100,000 weekly rides.

📢 AAK has agreed to sell its Foodservice site in Hillside, New Jersey, USA, as part of its portfolio strategy to optimize Foodservice operations. The binding transaction with Stratas Foods LLC should close by year-end, subject to standard conditions. Hillside accounts for ~5% of AAK's volume and ~1% of operating profit. The sale is expected to yield a one-time cash inflow of approximately 600 million SEK and should improve group operating profit per kilo by ~4%.

🏢 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) partners with the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) for ATM 2025, aiming to expand the business events sector. ATM 2025 will feature IBTM @ ATM, a dedicated business events showcase. As the official partner, ICCA will conduct sessions on global business event trends, including sustainability, digital transformation, and AI integration. Additionally, ICCA will facilitate international association buyers' participation, showcasing the region's offerings to event organizers. The partnership underscores ATM's commitment to driving tourism through substantial business events, with the industry projected to reach $1.5 trillion this year.

🏥 On October 16, the Club des Directeurs de la Restauration et d’Exploitation (CDRE) Île-de-France hosted a gathering at the H4 Wyndham Paris Pleyel Resort's 40th-floor panoramic bar with Lars Hallier and Maxime Bonvoisin. About 50 attendees, including hospitality schools like UTEC Emerainville, Ferrandi Paris and Bordeaux, EPMT, and Alexandre Dumas, joined partners and journalists. Béatrice Gravier, Director of Equip’Hotel, will welcome CDRE members on November 4.

💸 The Hôtels Cafés Restaurants (HCR) sector fully utilized its 2024 training budget for 35,500 trainees. Post 16/10/2024, AKTO stopped funding in-house training for HCR, and from 21/10/2024, transversal and AFEST trainings were removed from HCR's Espace Formation. HCR companies now exclusively access the "Actions collectives métiers en INTER entreprises" via the Espace Formation. Updates for 2025 will be announced in January 2025, meanwhile, AKTO advises frequently checking their funding rules page.

🏨 Vantage Capital, the largest mezzanine debt fund manager in Africa, fully exited its investment in Egypt-based PickAlbatros Hotels, with a portfolio of 4- and 5-star hotels in the Red Sea region. In December 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Vantage invested $18.4 million to support the hotel group's working capital needs and renovations. The hotel group's capacity increased from 10,000 to 14,000 keys.

🏨 Covivio, a real estate investor since 2005, is transitioning to also being a hotel operator. By 2024, Covivio will enhance its hotel management platform, WiZiU, operating 24 hotels in France and Belgium. WiZiU's launch follows Covivio's increase in capital of its subsidiary, Covivio Hotels, and the planned restructuring of assets with AccorInvest at the end of November. Hotel assets now represent 20% of Covivio's portfolio (up from 15% at the end of 2020), with 38% owned outright (an increase from 62% managed under lease agreements).